It's been a while - but I am still about

OK so I have not felt much like doing much !! If that makes sense. What have I done? Work on three things:  Firstly I have been working on the White Rabbi's pocket watch - only the case done so far but the inside is a work in progress (sorry no photos)

Secondly I was very lucky to get a last minute place on a course at West Dean with Wendy Dolan.  I was phoned on the Sunday lunch time to say the course was starting in the afternoon - only a 2.5 hour drive away !!  West Dean is awesome especially as this was the first week of June - all that glorious sunshine!!  Wendy was brilliant and her work is lovely (see her website here: http://www.wendydolan.co.uk/).  I had a fantastic three days ending on my birthday :-) This is my 'final' piece - it is still a work in progress needs some more stitching.

Here is Wendy during our end of course mini 'exhibition'.

Thirdly I have done more work on my Klimt jacket - the back pieces are stitched together, fabrics  sorted and so far I have laid out the first section (red) at the bottom back - this is going to be another long project but I have also started work on the usual many many miles of cord :-)

Workshop on the Web article

Forgot to blow my own trumpet and tell you that my article on how to make my style of Scrapbook is available on Workshop on the Web. That makes the third article now! Remember to subscribe to WOW to read some fantastic articles. Click HERE to link to WOW.

Texture Book Part 3

I know I promised to have a giveaway for my Birthday which was at the beginning of the month. Well I am soooooo sorry I have not offered the texture book yet - it's because I have now made 4 small ones and have sold each one just as I finished it!! Great for me but not for you!! I have also been asked to offer the process as a new workshop for a guild so I am in the process of creating a flyer... The photo on the flyer is my latest small book.

As soon as I get a chance to create another one I will have my giveaway.

Workshop

Yesterday I 'taught' a wonderful group of ladies - Newbury Embroiderers Guild!! We were doing my Coffee Grid books workshop - these ladies were just so quick to understand the techniques and produced some wonderful samples - With many of them taking the techniques further - just what my workshops are all about - I offer a basic starting point and away they go!! A wonderful experience!! I have a full memory stick of pictures. Some of which I will share with you here - I'm sorry I don't have all names - So I will not include any - that's fair and I can't make mistakes!! Wonderful work!! - First two pictures are, for me, a great sign - all heads down busily working!! Some of the wonderful basic grids.. Grids and a completed mini book (I give each student a small pack of pieces to complete a book in the afternoon - some complete some don't which is how it should be). Applying a grid to a colourful background makes a very different original piece.... A very delicate, almost finished book.... Adding contrasting/complimenting elements in different arrangements..... trying different grids - the 'wavy one' - before and after wetting with coffee - how about a 'spiders web' will this work?? Before.... and of course - a successful 'after' photo!! What about random swirls?? Will they work??? Yes !!!

I was so impressed by this lovely group. I hope they enjoyed the day and that each has taken a little something from the course. I had a great time!!

Workshop Yesterday

Another creative day yesterday - the GWE offered a workshop with Annette Emms, known for her Fairy Shoes - see her blog here. The course was not on making fairy shoes but on making a book in a box. You can see Annette's examples here. The course was so interesting we learnt so much about image transfers, that we just ran out of time to complete the books. Of course, being one of those people who can never do one thing at a time I did start two projects. I completed two boxes and the two books are part started....

GWE Workshops

You may remember I chatted about a new major guild/group - GWE - Great Western Embroiderers (for example here, information here). The main group meetings are on the second Tuesday of the month in Wiltshire. Well we are considering a sub group called GWE Workshops meeting on 3rd Monday of the month 10-3pm - all tea and coffee included. Bring own packed lunch.

Taking a bit of a conversation I have had with Maggie... this is the basic premise of the sub-group: GWE workshops participants need to be able to work on their own, we are offering a space and support structure to do this.
1.As we arrive we set up an inspiration/progress/works so far board of our work. This will make the room feel inspiring.
2. Then just get on with our own work
3. Then give 5 minute talk to the group about their work after lunch. This talk to focus on what they have done.. inspirations and then where they might go next. All positive .. no negatives allowed. At end of 5 minutes... questions from others there - the purpose to be to progress the work.

This will give a responsibility and respect towards your work and others. It will hopefully be stringent enough to help us keep to a high level of work, as it takes confidence to be able to do this. We are not interested in a "sewing group"... much more a "professional studio " atmosphere.
There will be a cost - this currently stands at the hiring of the centre split between anyone who comes. Regular participation will be a major 'membership' factor as will a certain starting standard. We envisage this will be of interest to those who are of a City and Guilds level - you have seen my standard to give you some idea of the sort of work we would like to so (said very cheekily !!!) Of course anyone without a C&G but with that sort of skill or standard is more than welcome.

So if anyone in Wiltshire (or within easy reach of the centre - details here) interested in joining us please send me an email as soon as possible. Our first meeting will be in September 08

Is this the way forward for me.....

You may remember I recently 'taught' a workshop for the Cotswold Branch of the Embroiderers Guild (UK) - see here for the blog I wrote about it. Some of the ladies asked to buy my 'teaching notes' - which are a series of photos with the 'recipe' for making each postcard. Then I had a request from a member who could not attend the course. So I put together a booklet of all my postcard 'recipes', with a spiral binding for easy turning . This booklet is 18 colour pages with notes on each of the postcards I have made (if there was a series - only one recipe was included). I have now sold a further 6 copies for £9 (plus postage) - I wonder if this is the way forward???? I nice way to share my postcards, and to help fund more???? I am really happy to sell them. It's bit difficult to illustrate the front cover but it looks like this:..

Yesterday - What a fabulous day!!

I dislike being referred to as a ‘tutor’ – I prefer ‘workshop facilitator’ and yesterday that is just what I was doing – facilitating a workshop. 10 wonderful ladies from the Cotswold branch of the embroiderer’s guild took part in my Mail Art workshop – making postcards. This ‘craze’ has not fully reached parts of the UK yet so these ladies were keen to get involved. I offered the usual choice – we all make the same postcard, or we all do our own thing, using my recipes and I show them individually (or all together) the bits they are interested in.

The ladies decided on the second option and looked through my collection of postcards picking their favourites and off they went! I had a lovely time talking to each lady, offering ideas, showing my methods and generally enjoying the day. They are a very talented, inspirational and creative group. Some played with background ideas preferring to finish off at home, some completed one or more postcards and some just absorbed information (without being productive but leaving with lots of ideas!)
Photos (I took over 100 pics, lots of work in progress - I love the 'recipes' and some finished works) so here are a few to share, of course these were so much better in the flesh!!! .......

Our round up show and tell..

By Sara - a lovely mixture of textures...and a striking Valentine..

Ruth was working with lovely spring colours, tyvek, puff paint on a background for later A couple by Irene..woven textureand very delicate hearts for Valentines Day. A wonderful vibrant colour combination by Chris
Delicate golden layers by Pauline..
A couple of spring postcards (I feel a series here...) by Gina

Jill had lovely delicate colours and marked out two postcards but this may become a notebook - you can see the posibility.......
Dot prepared this lovely lace background and took home ideas of what to do with materials at home...
Sue produced brilliant thick textured backgrounds.
Georgina - here working on her bark texture
and a tyvek sampleAs they were such a good bunch I have agreed to do postcard swap with them all – just to start them off on the delightful journey of mailing art!! – So I’ve done it again – set myself more work to do!! In this case I think it is well worth it – to continue to inspire these ladies.So I don’t think I succeeded as a tutor but I really felt I had facilitated the creative inspiration for these ladies!!